At times, there may be things within your control and then there are moments when you’re left helpless in a situation.

On the final few days left for 2016, this Malaysian lady was faced with such circumstances when she experienced a snatch theft near the Zoo Negara area last December 27.

Screenshot of the Facebook post.

A Grab driver named Abdul Hakim Fayyadh Fay shared the story in a closed group for Grab and Uber drivers the day it happened.

That day, he received a message from a person using the moniker ZED. ZED asked for his help to send an elderly woman by the name of Tan Ah Jee to a nearby police station as she had gotten her handbag stolen from her.

Apparently, a man on a yellow motorcycle had grabbed her handbag so hard it caused her to be dragged along the road. It left her outfit slightly torn and she had light injuries on her body from the force. What was more heartbreaking was that everyone around the area just looked at her and none offered help.

Feeling distressed after losing her bag, Ah Jee asked some taxi drivers nearby to help drop her off at Melawati Police Station but they refused her offer with the reason of having other bookings to attend to.

This made Abdul Hakim very upset with how his fellow Malaysians had reacted to this simple request. Not only was he appalled that no one was willing to help when the incident had just happened, he was ashamed to find out that there not even a single person was kind enough to help this old woman report her unfortunate situation to the authorities.

“Sometimes, I feel so ashamed in our country. With our economy facing a crisis, it seems there are many out there who are so desperate that they would do something as awful as snatching an old woman’s bag without thinking long and hard,” said Abdul Hakim in Malay in his post.

He also shared that in her handbag, there was only about RM200 in cash. Ah Jee had come all the way from Kulim to visit her child while having a short vacation. Her child lives at Kemensah Height but was on holiday to Singapore when the incident happened and the only person at home was the maid so she didn’t even have anyone in her family to call for help.

“Our job is not to just send people around. Sometimes we were chosen to help those in need. When you leave your house with the intention of making ends meet the right way, everything will be alright.”

“Maybe the payment won’t be immediate but whatever it is, everything has a silver lining. Even if I’m out there finding incentives, I’m glad I spent time out of my day to help this elderly woman with her issue,” shared Abdul Hakim.

The post has managed to garner attention from fellow drivers who commended him for his selfless act. Even Grab themselves have taken note of his good deed and applauded Abdul Hakim for his praiseworthy values.

“This heartwarming gesture by our driver truly embodies what we at Grab are all about—putting safety and helping others first, and going above and beyond to provide great service. Grab takes the quality of our drivers very seriously. Through our training, we aim to instill positive values amongst our drivers.”

“The fact that our driver took the initiative to offer help at a situation when no one else responded was also something we were especially proud of as it portrays the kind of virtue every Malaysian should possess,” said Jaygan Fu, Country Head of Grab Malaysia.